Lafayette Alumnus, Team Give $25,000

Scholarship Program Named For Player

April 24, 1991|By LUCINDA COUTO Staff Writer

JAMES CITY (COUNTY) — The New York Giants football team has given the Lawrence Taylor Scholarship Fund at Lafayette High School $25,000, the largest contribution in the scholarship program's eight-year history.

Betsy Thomas, athletic director, received a letter last week from Bill Parcells, coach of the Giants, informing her that the team donated the money to ``enhance opportunities for others such as Lawrence.'' The majority of the money came from Taylor, according to the letter.

"This is very different than normal,'' said Thomas, ``it's not usually from the team.

``He's been kind,'' she said. ``He doesn't forget Williamsburg.''

Thomas said since 1983 Taylor has been donating between $5,000 and $10,000 a year to his alma mater, for a total of $85,000.

Part of the money funded scholarships given each year to a male and female athlete who are financially in need, and part of it has been used by the athletic department for equipment and other needs. Some years Taylor specified how much he wanted to go to each, and some years he wanted the money to be used entirely for scholarships.

Nobody at the high school expected as much as $25,000, and nobody is certain how the money will be used, Thomas said.

Thomas said she is trying to reach Taylor to see if some of this year's gift can be used for the athletic department. Parcells could not be reached for comment.

Taylor, a native of James City, first played football in his junior year at Lafayette, Thomas said, as nose guard and then wide receiver. He was a linebacker at the University of North Carolina before becoming a professional.

In 1987 - the year the Giants won the Super Bowl - former Gov. Gerald L. Baliles named March 20 Lawrence Taylor Day. A dinner held on his behalf on that day raised $13,500 for the scholarship fund.